Mottlepaw's Life Journey
by potterwarrior
Summary: Six to seven generations after the five Clans were formed, an apprentice named Mottlepaw attends her first Gathering. This is the beginning of her life journey as a dedicated Riverclan Warrior, who wants to live life to the fullest, and do something great with her life. Chapters will be added, but the first chapter is not a cliffhanger! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: A Peaceful Gathering

_ Mottlepaw padded slowly through the throng_ of cats waiting at the bottom of the hill. Looking around, she noticed Lakethaw talking to another cat, in front of the most enormous boulder she had ever seen. _This must be the Great Rock! _Four even taller oak trees surrounded it. _Now I can _really _see why this place is called Fourtrees! _

Mottlepaw was so excited that she didn't hear her name being called. "Mottlepaw. Mottlepaw!"

Mottlepaw spun around. Pricklepaw came bounding up to her; Excitement clear in his eyes. Mottlepaw could tell that he was just as amazed as she was at all of these strange, new faces.

"Mottlepaw, Quicktail is going to tell a story to some of apprentices! You have to come!"

"Who's Quicktail?" she asked him.

Pricklepaw sighed. _Mouse-brained know-it-all!_

"Well, _I _heard from the _other _Clan apprentices that he's the best storyteller in Windclan; maybe even in _all _the Clans!" mewed Pricklepaw imperiously. "But, if you don't want to come..."

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Mottlepaw mewed back.

Mottlepaw followed Pricklepaw across the clearing. All around her were more cats than she had ever seen! Her nose was filled with more scents than she could ever have imagined; Shadowclan's musty scent, the undergrowth of Thunderclan, the moor that Windclan called home….. Fourtrees was alive with the sound of cats meeting for the full moon truce. She almost didn't realize that Pricklepaw had stopped.

"Hello," mewed a friendly voice, "Have you two come to hear a story?"

"Oh, yes Quicktail!" mewed Pricklepaw happily. "I've heard all about you!"

Quicktail mrrrrrrowed with laughter. It was evident that he was very proud to have even the newest apprentices know his name. Three Shadowclan apprentices were sitting by him; eager to hear what he had to say. Quicktail wrapped his tail around his brown tabby paws and settled down to speak.

"Only five of you listening, today? No matter. I think you will enjoy this story. I spent half a moon working on it! Now, here we go…

"A long time ago, there was a Windclan leader named Fallowstar. She was going to have kits, soon. The night before her kitting, a Starclan warrior visited Fallowstar in a dream. She told Fallowstar the futures of the three kits she was about to have. She told her that her first kit would be very brave, but would lose half his tail in battle.

'Oh, the poor dear!' Fallowstar exclaimed. 'And what of the others?'

"The starry warrior went on to tell her that her second kit would train the hardest of all the apprentices and would help the clan win many battles. Then, the Starclan warrior told Fallowstar the most exciting news of all. Her third kit would become leader of Windclan! After sharing her news, the Starclan warrior left.

"The next day, Fallowstar had three beautiful kits; one brown, one black and one gray; two toms, and a she-kit. Fallowstar thought about her dream, and she named them. Their names were Kitkit, Pawkit, and Starkit.

"The Clan often laughed at the brown and black toms; it seemed their leader already favored her gray she-kit, by adding "Star" to her name. But, it was not so. She showed them all the same love and affection.

'Awww, Kitkit. What a dumb name!' mewed Kitkit grumpily one morning. 'But at least my name won't be Pawpaw, huh Pawkit?'

'Come on, Kitkit, your names aren't that bad.' mewed Starkit.

'Easy for you to say, Starkit!' Pawkit replied.

"Soon, the kits were apprenticed. The two young toms grumbled about their names more than ever.

"One day, a badger attacked the camp! Kitpaw raced into action and battled fiercely as a lion. Finally, the creature fled; but not before it had bitten off half of Kitpaw's tail! Pawpaw sped after it, and knocked it out with one powerful blow to the head.

"In time, the apprentices received their warrior names. Kitpaw became Kittail. He was now very proud of his name, because now every cat would remember how he had bravely attacked the badger and lost half of his tail, which, of course, was now kit-sized. Pawpaw received the name Pawstrike to commemorate how he had beaten the badger with one strike of his paw. Starpaw was given the name Starheart, because she was always fair to her littermates; and didn't laugh at their names. In time, Starheart became deputy. When her mother moved to the elders den, she became Starstar, leader of Windclan. Starstar was a good leader, and she often joked with her brothers about how even though they had all had funny names, their names were special, and a part of who they were."

"Wow, cool story!" mewed a brown Shadowclan apprentice.

"Yeah, that was fantastic!" added Pricklepaw.

Mottlepaw had enjoyed it, too. _Although I hope Lakestar doesn't hear this story!_ The Riverclan leader just might follow in Fallowstar's paw steps! Mottlepaw glanced over her shoulder and noticed the five clan leaders taking their places on the Great Rock. _The Gathering is about to begin!_

The Thunderclan leader, Loudstar, begin, "Welcome, cats of all the Clans! Prey in Thunderclan has been running well this Greenleaf. We are happy to report a new warrior: Foxtree!"

All the cats cheered for Foxtree. Windclan's leader, Swiftstar, reported the birth of five healthy kits. Stripedstar of Shadowclan warned that a fox had been seen on her Clan's territory. The Skyclan leader, Rosestar, had named a new warrior, Doveswoop. Then, it was Lakestar's turn to speak for Riverclan.

"I am pleased to announce six new apprentices: Pricklepaw, Mothpaw, Swooppaw, Poppypaw, Nettlepaw, and Mottlepaw."

_Lakestar saved the best for last!_, Mottlepaw chuckled to herself.

All too soon, the Gathering was over; no cat had anything else to report. It had been a really good first gathering, in Mottlepaw's opinion. _But I guess we have to go home some time!_ Mottlepaw was already looking forward to the next Gathering. She hoped Quicktail would tell another story. Mottlepaw was still excited when she settled down in her nest for the night.


	2. Chapter 2: A Disrupted Morning

Mottlepaw woke with a start the next morning. Four kits had pounced on her at once, knocking the wind out of her. They were only two moons old, and had already caused enough trouble to fill six! Mottlepaw stood up, and the four kits tumbled off of her, squealing madly.

"Mottlepaw, you didn't play with us _at all_, yesterday!" Mewed Minnowkit

"I was busy with my apprentice duties and the Gathering," sighed Mottlepaw. "And I _was _sleeping, until all of you came bursting in!"

In Riverclan, each cat could choose their own den to sleep in, but the apprentices had one large den, full of reeds enclosing their own personal spaces. Mottlepaw's two sisters, Poppypaw and Nettlepaw, poked their heads through the reeds on either side of her. Minnowkit, Rushkit, Pebblekit, and Lightkit all let out shrill little yelps of surprise.

"Windclan is attacking!" called out Rushkit, as he leapt at Poppypaw, batting at her nose. "They're coming in on all sides!"

Mottlepaw's neat little nest was soon torn apart by the kits' ferocious "battle". But they froze at the appearance of their mother, Frostshine, who looked absolutely furious.

"This is the last time you four sneak out of the nursery! I am astounded you would cause such a mess! You will immediately clean up this den, and I am going to talk to Lakestar." She told them.

"Lakestar? Why are you going to talk to Lakestar?" mewed Minnowkit, sheepishly.

"I think a few days of taking care of the apprentices' camp duties will take your thoughts off of trouble!" she replied, glaring at her kits, who began to complain.

As soon as they had tidied up the den a bit, Frostshine ordered her children back to the nursery, and Mottlepaw plopped into her nest. She found herself unable to sleep, as did her sisters. _Those kits are a pain in the tail! I hope I never have any…or at least any like those four. _She heard Nettlepaw rustling around next to her, clearly annoyed, so she decided to go do some hunting with her sisters, because they were not going on the dawn patrol. The three set out of the den and walked through camp, to the river. Poppypaw settled onto a large flat rock that jutted out over the water.

Poppypaw's ears twitched as Nettlepaw hooked a small fish out of the water. "You know, I'm really glad we live in Riverclan." She purred, as the sun rose over the far off cliffs, bringing the fish up from the deeper parts of the river.

"Our prey is the richest of all the Clans." Added Mottlepaw, remembering how her Clan's sleek, shiny pelts contrasted with those of lean Windclan's, as well as the other three Clans'.

"And everyone is always happy, here! Look at our leader! He must be the most joyful leader of all the clans!" chimed in Nettlepaw. From where they were, perched by the river, they could hear him calling to his mother's sister's son, Lakethaw. It was common knowledge in all the Clans that Dryleaf and Sandbreeze had kitted on the same day, and unknowingly named each of their only kits "Lakekit".

Mottlepaw felt very privileged to belong to this great Clan, but in that moment, she wished that she knew what living in the other Clans was like. She shook this thought from her mind as she caught sight of a trout being leisurely carried along by the current. With one strike, she flipped it out of the water, and killed it before it realized what had happened.

The sisters felt proud to drop their fish onto the fresh-kill pile before setting off on a border patrol with their mentors.


	3. Chapter 3: List of Cats in Riverclan

**Leader:** Lakestar- a tall dark-gray tom with lighter gray paws, tail, and face and green eyes

**Deputy:** Mudpatch- a white she-cat with brown patches and green eyes

**Picklepaw- **A striped brown tom with a gray belly and legs and green eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Swallowthorn- tabby gray she-cat with orange eyes

**Apprentice- **Nightpaw- a black tom with green eyes

**Warriors:**

Otterstrike- a brown tom with green eyes

Newtswim- a small black tom with amber eyes

Rollingsun- an orange tabby tom with amber eyes

Leaphigh- a tall, light gray she-cat with green eyes

**Apprentice- **Nettlepaw- a light ginger tabby she-cat with a white belly and green eyes

Cloudedmist- a white she-cat, with unusually long gray hairs throughout her pelt and blue eyes

Duckleg- a short-legged dark gray tom with light blue eyes

Featherdown- a long-haired white she-cat with green eyes

**Apprentice-** Mottlepaw- a white she-cat with a brown overcoat, ears, and tail, and white spots, has green eyes

Strongwhisker- a muscular striped gray tom with amber eyes

**Apprentice-** Swooppaw- a light gray tom with dark gray stripes and pale green eyes

Nutpelt- a golden-brown tom with amber eyes

Turtletail- a tortoiseshell she-cat, with half of her tail missing from a turtle bite, has green eyes

**Apprentice- **Mothpaw- a yellow-and-white tabby she-cat with dark green eyes

Snowscoop- a brown tom with white paws and face and green eyes

Runningriver- an almost blue gray tom with blue eyes

**Apprentice- **Poppypaw- a pale ginger tabby she-cat with a white belly and paws, green eyes

Dapplestream - a pale cream she-cat with ginger patches and green eyes

**Queens: **

Duskfern- a dark gray she-cat with green eyes; mother to Seedkit- a white tom with amber eyes, and Sagekit- a striped gray she-kit with green eyes

Frostshine- a sleek she-cat with a pale gray pelt that is almost white, and blue eyes; mother to Minnowkit- a dark gray tom with blue eyes, Rushkit- a black tom with amber eyes, Lightkit- a she-kit who look exactly like her mother, and Pebblekit- a dark gray she-kit with amber eyes

Troutflower- a black she-cat with blue eyes

**Elders:**

Dryleaf- a light brown she-cat with green eyes

Fishtooth- a white tom with black patches, green eyes, and a few missing teeth

Frogstream- a dark brown she-cat with green eyes


	4. Chapter 4: Sudden Threat

"Now, I know we mostly hunt fish, but it's important to be able to catch prey on land, should we need extra food." Featherdown and Strongwhisker had taken their apprentices far from the river for hunting practice, and Mottlepaw and Swooppaw were sure that catching mice and voles would be similar to catching fish. They were wrong.

"You know how you can't let fish see your shadow on the water? Well, you can't let land-prey scent you or see you." Stronwhisker explained to the apprentices. "I can smell a squirrel nearby. Watch me carefully."

Strongwhisker crouched low to the ground, and began stalking the squirrel as it dug through the ground. With a mighty leap, he brought it down and killed it swiftly, before it realized what had happened. Mottlepaw hoped that she would be able to get it right. _I don't want Swooppaw seeing me mess this up!_ She padded softly through the tall grass, until she caught the scent of a vole. She crouched down the way that Strongwhisker had, and was preparing to spring when she heard a fierce growling; three large dogs were coming towards her.

"Help! Dogs!" she shrieked They huge beasts leapt at her, and she began to run, not pausing to look where she was headed. Her paws hit the ground frantically, until she heard a roaring as she burst from the grass, onto a thunderpath! She quivered in fear, noises rushing past, monsters swerving all around her. Mottlepaw was absolutely terrified. She ran to the other side, and hid, shaking, underneath a bush. _Starclan help me!_

Mottlepaw stayed under the bush until the sun began to set. She felt stiff, and reluctant to leave, lest the dogs come back. Then, she looked up to see Featherdown padding calmly over to her. "We've been looking for you for ages! Why did you run off like that?"

Mottlepaw looked at her, astonished. "I ran because of the dogs! Didn't you see them? They chased me!" "Mottlepaw, there were no dogs; why are you lying? Featherdown looked disdainful. "I'm not making this up!" Mottlepaw was shocked, she had seen three huge dogs; how could her mentor not see or smell them?

Mottlepaw followed Featherdown back to camp, feeling very angry and hurt.


	5. Chapter 5: A Coincidence

The camp had the lazy atmosphere of a Greenleaf sundown; kits wrestled and chased each other, and cats shared tongues by the well-stocked fresh-kill pile. One she-cat, however, was anxious and alert, and bounded over to Mottlepaw as she padded in behind Featherdown.

"Oh, Mottlepaw! Where have you been? Strongwhisker and Swooppaw were back _ages _ago!" Dapplestream licked her daughter's head, not giving her a chance to respond.

Mottlepaw pulled away from her mother. "Dapplestream, no one will believe me; I was chased by three of the most enormous dogs that I've ever seen!" She lowered her voice. "Even Featherdown thought I was lying." Mottlepaw could not help feeling a little dejected. She looked up to Featherdown a lot, and aspired to have the young mentor's courage and skill.

Dapplestream looked at Mottlepaw sympathetically. "I haven't heard of any dogs in our territory recently. You were with three other cats, how would they not notice three large dogs in their midst?"

Mottlepaw, who was usually the most composed and responsible of the apprentices, was very near to losing her temper. Instead of yowling in frustration, however, she let out a small sigh, mumbled "Bye, then," and left to go to her den. Her sisters were out chatting with Swooppaw, but she didn't hear them mention the training session. _Swooppaw has probably told all the other apprentices that I'm losing my mind, already. _She fell asleep, keen to have the inauspicious day over with.

Mottlepaw awoke in the middle of the night, aware of something prodding her flank. "Lightkit, is that you?" She mumbled and opened her eyes. Lightkit was a perfect copy of her mother, light gray pelt outlined by the waning moon.

Lightkit spoke slower and calmer than she ever had before. "Mottlepaw, I had a dream. I had a dream that dogs were chasing me, and that I told my family, but only my siblings believed me."

Mottlepaw looked at her confusedly. "Why did you wake me up in particular?"

"You were chased by dogs, you said, and no cat believed you. I believe you." Lightkit looked worried. "Do you think it means something? Are we in danger?"

Mottlepaw wrapped her tail around Lightkit's small body. "Don't worry, you probably only had a dream about dogs because you were thinking about them before you went to sleep. I'm sure it was just a coincidence." Mottlepaw sounded calm, but inside she could not help thinking that there was something troubling going on. She let Lightkit stay with her, and soon they were both asleep again.


	6. Chapter 6: Other Visions

Mottlepaw blinked heavily as she awoke, and was surprised to find that Lightkit had left without waking her. _That's strange. She and her littermates are usually so boisterous. That dream must have spooked Lightkit. _She began to rise, but before she could step paw outside her den, Featherdown had poked her head in. "Border patrol, we're leaving soon." She did not sound cross with Mottlepaw, but had not given her any sort of friendly greeting. Featherdown was gone as quickly as she came, leaving Mottlepaw a little crushed inside. _I'm going to impress my mentor, today!_

The sun had barely risen from the shadowy corners of the earth when the patrol headed out of the camp. Snowscoop led the patrol, and Runningriver brought his apprentice, Poppypaw, who began to immediately question her sister about the dogs.

"I don't think you were lying, Mottlepaw, I'm just saying that you could have fallen asleep and had a dream, maybe, or-" Mottlepaw cut her off, "Yeah, I fell asleep, had a dream, and NEVER woke up. Likely story, you think?" Poppypaw glared at her, and they continued the patrol in silence.

Because the patrol had nothing to report, they decided to hunt in the river. They spread out, each cat seeking a good fishing spot. Soon each of them was diving under the flowing water, in search of fish. Mottlepaw broke the surface, a gleaming trout in her jaws. She deposited her catch atop the shore, and was preparing to spring back into the water, when she saw Poppypaw swimming frantically toward her.

"Mottlepaw, run! There are dogs in the water!" Poppypaw leaped onto the shore as Mottlepaw looked out over the river. "Mottlepaw, why are you just standing there, they were under the water with me!" "I see no dogs." Poppypaw was at a loss for words. "I'm sorry." She said, realizing what had happened. "I didn't believe you. This must be a vision!" Mottlepaw gaped at her. "You really think so?" she whispered. Poppypaw nodded. Suddenly, Snowscoop came padding up to them. "Who was shouting?" He shook out his brown and white fur, eyes narrowed.

The sisters exchanged a glance, silently agreeing not to mention their visions. "Oh, we were just…admiring this large trout Mottlepaw caught." Poppypaw said lamely. Snowscoop cast a suspicious glance at the two, but shrugged it off, calling for Featherdown and Runningriver, who were hunting together farther away. They came back with their kill, and the patrol returned to the camp. Poppypaw lagged behind with Mottlepaw. "We've got to tell Nettlepaw about this." She meowed around her fish. Mottlepaw sighed. "Yes, I know, but no cat actually believes me until they have a vision themselves. Lightkit came to me last night. She told me she had a dream that dogs chased her, but that none of the warriors would listen to her. I think we should wait and see if Nettlepaw gets a vision, and then tell her." Poppypaw agreed, and they ran to catch up with the patrol.

Nettlepaw was doing battle training with her mentor, Leaphigh, while her sisters were hunting. They all returned to camp at the same time, and she waited for her sisters to deposit their catches on the fresh-kill pile before asking them about their day. Mottlepaw acted completely natural. "It was normal, we patrolled and hunted. What did you do?" Nettlepaw was excited. "Leaphigh taught me a new battle move that has never been done, before! She is showing it to all the warriors and mentors later today and tomorrow. But don't tell anyone yet; this is just a secret for us three, okay?" Mottlepaw nodded, feeling guilty that she was keeping a secret from her own sister." _But it shouldn't be long before she has a vision, too. _

The three she-cats decided to eat some fresh-kill, ad go for a swim before evening patrols. _This vision had better not mess up our lives, whatever it is! _Mottlepaw was quite content, but she did start to wonder what it would be like to have a little danger to overcome. _Best not to worry about danger or any sort of adventure at all!_ Mottlepaw splashed and dived, having a great time, but still, she could not get it out of her head that one little adventure would not be so bad.


End file.
